Turbochargers ??? How they work ???

The turbocharger is bolted to the exhaust manifold of the engine. 

The exhaust from the cylinders spins the turbine, which works like a gas turbine engine. The turbine is connected by a shaft to thecompressor, which is located between the air filter and the intake manifold. The compressor pressurizes the air going into the pistons.

Inside a turbocharger

Image courtesy Garrett

The exhaust from the cylinders passes through the turbine blades, causing the turbine to spin. The more exhaust that goes through the blades, the faster they spin.

On the other end of the shaft that the turbine is attached to, the compressor pumps air into the cylinders. The compressor is a type of centrifugal pump -- it draws air in at the center of its blades and flings it outward as it spins.

In order to handle speeds of up to 150,000 rpm, the turbine shaft has to be supported very carefully. Most bearings would explode at speeds like this, so most turbochargers use a fluid bearing. This type of bearing supports the shaft on a thin layer of oil that is constantly pumped around the shaft. This serves two purposes: It cools the shaft and some of the other turbocharger parts, and it allows the shaft to spin without much friction.

There are many tradeoffs involved in designing a turbocharger for an engine. In the next section, we'll look at some of these compromises and see how they affect performance.

Ambassador: R.I.P

Ambassador was called as the first Indian car. Ambassador was born in 1958 bought by Hindustan Motors. The design and technology resembles with the British car model: Morris Oxford. From 1958 to 1980 ambassadors ruled the Indian market. There were no more than two competitors in the Indian market at that time. They were Premier Padmini and Ambassador. After 1980, the scenario of this market totally changed. In 1983, Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) launched Maruti 800. MUL had used very good marketing strategies to launch its product in the market. So, here ambassador had started losing its leadership position because of Maruti 800.  But, Ambassador had some strong advantages over Maruti 800. This car, Ambassador, was made dearer to certain segments. This was the only diesel car available in India. Those times there was significant difference in the prices of diesel and petrol. So this made the brand to become popular among big families and more in Taxi’s. Though the car look sturdy and well build, the car lacked quality and refinements with many complaints of rattling sounds and rusting.

Other significant factor which ambassador possessed was its presence in government sector. Over 16% of these car sales came from government. This was the first choice of the bureaucrats. Soon, these higher official who used to buy Ambassadors lost interest in it as new and better models were offered by other automakers.

The fundamental issue was with its product and price. If we look at the product, the Ambassador, it has never changed with times. Many cosmetic changes were made in its three upgrades named Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV but there were no value additions as such in these three upgrades. The look and the build quality remained the same.

The apathy of Hindustan Motors to offer product changes in tune with the time made the brand stale. The major drawback which made ambassador lose its position was its price factor. It was very expensive to maintain. Hindustan Motors never bothered to optimize the price of the brand. Even now Ambassador cost more than Rs.4, 80,000/- .At that price one can afford more luxurious sedan.

In 2000, Hindustan motors plant had full depreciation. But then also company did not reduced cost of its car. If today they would reduce their price with a good marketing strategy I think so they can survive for more years.

But this was not the end, in 2000 nail in the coffin came with the launch of TATA Indica. After all this there was only one market in which Ambassador can survive that was in the Taxi’s, Indica took this also that also with the diesel version.

There must be a continuous investment in branding and product development. Ambassador must also learn from Maruti 800. Maruti is still running because it had made various changes along with the changing consumer values. Also they have optimized their cost such that each and every class of people can afford it.

According to me, the only option to keep Ambassador alive is to keep its price at least below the price of Indica.                                             

_____________Nikhil Ingale

Nissan - Asymmetric Cube Concept

Add caption Automakers have now started to integrate electric energy into their car concepts to a greater extent, in a positive response to the rising concern on global warming. Japanese automakers have started taking keen interest in the same. Most of them, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan have vehicles that capitalize on this noteworthy objective. Nissan’s dedication to cars, powered by clean electric energy, is best reflected in its new car concept, ‘THE CUBE’. The cube can be seen as a perfect example of a temporary interruption to those tension-releasing “slow cars” from Japan. This concept car has an electric motor and lithium-ion batteries placed under the floor and seats. The most outstanding feature of the car is the absence of sharp edges due to the designer’s custom of a wavy design. The Cube is primarily known for its aesthetic appeal, wherein the rear window is cut asymmetrically to expand the rear view. The front side of the car is same as that of the other cars of Nissan but the rearside of the car is combined with the rear bumper. This has comprehensively helped Nissan to reduce its cost. Nowadays a consumer expects more comfort along with all the latest technologies and electronic features embedded in a car. Thus, referring to the above-mentioned reason, the manufacturers of Cube have installed standard equipments like Bluetooth, browser, access and keyless start, and rear parking camera. The rear bench has three positions for adjusting the backrest recline. This backrest is available in four attractive colors such as military strategist, White pearl, turquoise sea and bitter chocolate. There is a wonderful concept in the design of Cube Interiors. There is an indication that it will help depict the presence of Nissan throughout the world. This idea emerged by observing a droplet of water, by which the ‘ripple design’ came into existence. The interpretation is that, ‘The cube’ is a droplet of water sent from Japan that will spread all over the world. We can say that the model is very interesting and it realistically represents the spirit of the Japanese market. The price of this car in India is Rs. 7, 06,500/- and in U.S. it is $15,700, which is vey less as compared to the features and the comfort that Cube offers. The customers can get a pleasing and comfort ambiance inside the car which each and every customer expects. Nowadays almost each and every automaker is trying to design their cars in eco-friendly manner or they comply with the latest emission norms. Nissan Cube uses electric energy due to which there are very little or no chances of pollution. The other most outstanding advantage the Cube offers is its small size which I think is very important if we want to launch the car in the over-populated countries. Analyzing this innovative cube from both ergonomic and aesthetic points of view we conclude that we can design and manufacture this Cube on a large scale in the overpopulated and crowded countries like India, Japan, etc.

South Korean automakers grab the opportunity

The automobile crises that occurred during 2008-2010 severely affected the automakers in Europe and Asia and primarily left the American automobile manufacturers devastated with a very little or no demand for their products along with the rising fuel prices.

The US automakers were mostly affected in the recession over other auto manufacturers. As a result, the South Korean automakers who were not performing well prior to recession got an opportunity to overtake US markets when the recessionary pressures were mounting over the US. As a matter of fact, the sales of “Hyundai”, one of the leading car manufacturers of South Korea, drastically went up during the same period.

Thus, Hyundai, paving way for itself, successfully overtook “Honda” in 2008 and climbed up the ladder - from the 8th to 5th largest automobile manufacturer - in less than a decade. It also surpassed “Ford”, the world’s fourth largest automaker, post Honda success. Interestingly, Hyundai Kia (car) in 2008 was leading the car market showcasing a sharp increase in the sales while other automakers witnessed acute decline in their sales. Therefore, the sheer success of South Korean automakers gave a sense of discouragement to Honda, Ford and GM and they filed for bankruptcy as well.

So, the South Korean automakers turned this crisis into an opportunity by providing high quality and well designed vehicles to the customers. Besides, three fuel efficient cars viz, Kia Picanto, Kia Ceed and Hyundai i30 attracted a lot of attention from the customers around the world. Also, on the other hand, the fuel prices were overshooting and the environmental issues too were bothering the entire world.

Therefore, the luxury and SUV manufacturers from the US, Germany and Japan were found to be less in demand. Besides, the South Korean manufacturers also started working on improving their brand awareness followed by the introduction of the luxury vehicles such as Hyundai Genesis which received positive response and accolades.

Advantageously, in 2010, when the condition of the US markets stabilized, the US further grabbed a lead in the world of automobiles which was bound to rise in demand. So, we can say that this article stands as a learning lesson to the management students. They must find the alternate ways to reap the benefits associated with the first mover advantage. These kinds of learning lessons always help the management students who always look out for the opportunities to capitalize upon in order to make merry when the sun shines.

New budget affected the structure of automobile sector

The highest revenue generator for the Indian government is the automobile sector. The government earns Rs.25 billion annually in revenue from vehicle sales.  But, the new budget had adverse effects on the automobile sector. There is a bad news for all those who are planning to buy a new bike or a new car. Customers will have to pay more due to an increase in excise duties and registration charges. The excise duty on four-wheelers has increased from 10% to 60% and on two-wheelers from 30% to 40%.The road development and maintenance tax has also increased; ultimately increasing the cash outflow of the customers. The road maintenance tax, for four-wheelers, will be charged at 5% rate of the total cost of the vehicle, which initially was 2%. Likewise, two-wheelers will be charged Rs 6,000 annually.  The middle income groups are the ones who will be adversely affected by this steep increase in taxes, as they are the largest buyers of two-wheelers in the country. The automobile dealers have estimated the price of two-wheelers to increase by Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 17,000 which is a substantial amount while considering the middle-income group people. But the story doesn’t end there; the government has also increased the annual registration charges.   Now, all the four-wheelers fitted with 2000 cc engines and below will have to pay Rs. 16,500, up from Rs. 15,000. The vehicles which are fitted with 2001cc to 2900cc will have to pay Rs. 29,000, up from Rs. 25,000 and those with 2900cc will have to pay Rs. 44,000, up from Rs. 40,000. The two-wheelers fitted with 125cc engines and below will have to pay registration charge of Rs. 2,000, up from Rs. 1880; those with 126 cc to 250 cc engines will have to pay Rs. 3,500, up from Rs. 2,500 and those with 250 cc engines and above will have to pay Rs. 5,000.  As the excise duty has increased, the price of two-wheelers and four-wheelers has is bound toalso increased, . tThus making it difficult for the middle class people to buy a two-wheeler or even desire to shift to a four-wheeler. The iIndustry experts think that this is going to adversely affect the sale of both, two-wheelers and four-wheelers in the Indian market. This decline in sales is ultimately going to hit the government tax revenue. Today with the entry of the big automotive giants into the Indian automobile market, this budget comes as more of a disappointment of what was expected to change industry dynamics and set the wheels of the Indian economy moving towards prosperity again.

Luxury car segment in India

By definition, a luxury car means an expensive vehicle which is designed to provide higher comfort levels to the driver and the passengers. Today, the Indian car market is beginning to grow out of its stages of infancy. With the foray of an ever increasing number of international car makers into the Indian market, the Indian market is emerging as a lifetime opportunity for major Automotive companies worldwide. Also with the growing number of HNI (High Net Individual) in India, more and more luzuxry car makers are setting up their shops here. The luxury car market in India is growing at a rate of 25% year on year (YOY).  This is the major reason why the luxury car makers like Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW, Bentley, and Rolls Royce etc. have started selling cars in India.

With a price tag of more than Rs. 20 Million, luxury cars are accessible to a very few and select customers.  Well this is what the customers of luxury cars actually want and demand i.e. “Exclusivity”. The Indian economy is growing at a phenomenal growth rate. This means that the average consumer has more disposable income to spend on things like the luxury cars.

 Car manufacturers like BMW which sell the BMW 523i and 730ld models are receiving a lot of acceptance with the Indian consumers.  Even at prices which stand at ` 4,414,100 and ` 9,233,820, there is no scarcity of buyers. These German luxury cars are at the very epitome of quality and for the Indian millionaires, provide the pampering luxury that they crave for.  Besides BMW, other major German manufacturers are also doing the same in India. Mercedes Benz was one of the initial car makers that set shop in India, identifying the market potential. Today as more and more car makers perceive India as a great opportunity, the consumers are going to get an ever increasing array of options.

This all started in the 1990’s when we were introduced to one of the biggest economic reforms in the history of modern India. Today when the rest of the world is under recession, we here in India are witnessing a new luxury car launched almost every quarter. After almost 3 decades since the launch of the humble Maruti 800, we have now entered an era where India is said to be on the road to become the largest luxury car market in the world. The 139,835 millionaires in India in 2009 growing at a 19.7% rate YOY (Year on Year) are going to fuel the growth of the Luxury car segment for the years to come. May it be Mercedes Benz or the famous BMW’s, India is providing all of them with demand.

Chocolate-themed Smart Car

Car manufacturer Mercedes Benz on Wednesday unveiled a chocolate-themed version of its Smart car in Tokyo, just a couple of weeks before St. Valentine's Day

It was uncovered at the International Fashion Fair in Tokyo.
The car looks as if it is fully wrapped up by hundreds of chocolate bars.
The body and interior of the two-seater compact car were specially designed by Japanese accessory maker Q-pot for the fashion event.